Charities are becoming increasingly sophisticated about how they gather evidence of impact - and there are many great guides and tools out there to help them do so. But there are other ways that the third...

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A growing wariness between what is fact and what is fiction in recent years has been highlighted by increased political polarisation, a fractured media and the accelerated pace of technological change. The Evidence Initiative, the recently launched...

This week marks International Open Access Week 2018. At the Alliance for Useful Evidence, we’re big supporters of the principles behind the open access (OA) movement: scholarly research should be available to everyone, not just to...

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Toby Blume

Toby is the co-founder of Social Engine with over 20 years’ experience of working in the not for profit sector, particularly supporting excluded communities to achieve positive social change. His work has included influencing public policy, community engagement and self help, grant-making and helping community groups to make sense of government policy and practice in regeneration, local government and empowerment. He ran two national charities – Groundswell UK and Urban Forum – for over 15 years, developing innovative ways for marginalised communities to have influence over decisions that affect them. For four years he was the Cooperative Council Implementation Lead at the London Borough of Lambeth, helping the council to do things differently. He led Lambeth’s use of randomised controlled trials and behavioural insights across a wide range of policy areas and services. His work has been recognised by awards from the LGA – the 2015 LARIA Research Impact Award – and the Institute for Revenues, Rating and Valuation’s Excellence in Innovation Award.

Toby has extensive experience in the field of community engagement, participation and behaviour change. Toby has undertaken work for a wide range of clients including the London Legacy Development Corporation, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and Hanover Housing and has written publications on topics including stakeholder engagement, community resilience and social value commissioning. He is a Design Council Built Environment Expert and an Analytical Associate for the Department for Education.

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